Türkiye won’t open straits until peace reached between Russia-Ukraine
ANKARA
Türkiye will continue to block the passage of military vessels in the Black Sea until Russia and Ukraine sign a peace agreement, Turkish Defense Ministry sources have said, as it hosted a two-day security meeting with the participation of 21 nations, including Ukraine but without Russia.
“During the meeting with the participation of foreign representatives over ensuring the security in the Black Sea, it has been agreed that Türkiye leads the planning activities of the maritime dimension and continues to implement the Montreux Convention in its current shape which will create the basis of the planning,” sources from the ministry said on April 17.
Türkiye hosted 39 military representatives from 21 nations on April 15 and 16 to start works for crafting military plans for the maritime security of the Black Sea to be implemented in the post-war period, the sources said.
Ukraine and some littoral countries as well as some prominent NATO countries were represented at the meeting while Russia did not attend it.
Türkiye closed the Turkish Straits to the passage of military vessels just few days after the Russian occupation of Ukraine started in February 2022. According to the statement by the sources, Türkiye will continue to strictly implement the convention and disallow the entry of the vessels into the Black Sea until the two warring states sign a peace agreement.
The move comes amid U.S.-led efforts to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The sources recalled that Türkiye is a member of the Coalition of the Willing, a group of European countries which are poised to ensure security and peace between the two warring countries after they sign a peace agreement.
They underlined that Türkiye is leading the efforts to keep the Black Sea secure and stable, and the meeting in Ankara was made through the coordination of the Turkish Chief of General Staff.
No normalization with Israel
Sources from the defense ministry also informed about technical deconfliction meetings with Israel in Syria which took place last week in Azerbaijan’s Baku.
“First round of talks for the creation of a deconfliction mechanism that would serve to avoid unwanted incidents in Syria took place in Azerbaijan. The deconfliction mechanism between Türkiye and Israel is not aiming at normalization but is a communication and coordination structure for the safe and controlled continuation of the military activities by preventing unwanted incidents in Syria,” they said.
On Greece’s declaration of maritime spatial planning over Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, sources stressed that the maps released by Athens have no legal consequences for Türkiye.
Greek unilateral moves violate international law, they said, reiterating Ankara’s determination in keeping Türkiye’s rights and interests in the region.
